Part 40 (2/2)
”You have a notice below, -master's eyes he saw that he had been correct in his assu one another on his threshold And then that flash of satisfaction was followed by a look of surprise
”You are coed and half smiled ”One must live,” said he
”But come in Sit down there I shall be at your I shall be free to attend to you in a ainst one of the ashed walls The roo and low, its floor entirely bare
Plain wooden forms such as that which he occupied were placed here and there against the wall These last were plastered with fencing trophies, masks, crossed foils, stuffed plastrons, and a variety of swords, daggers, and targets, belonging to a variety of ages and countries
There was also a portrait of an obese, big-nosed gentle the blue ribbon of the Saint Esprit, in who And there was a fra's Acade the last of the four s that abundantly lighted the long roo-table and an arentle M des Aht Andre-Louis, with extraordinary grace and elasticity--and stood in talk with hi hientle himself with a fine kerchief that left a trail of perfume on the air M des Amis closed the door, and turned to the applicant, who rose at once
”Where have you studied?” quoth the fencing-master abruptly
”Studied?” Andre-Louis was taken aback by the question ”Oh, at Louis Le Grand”
M des A up sharply as if to see whether his applicant was taking the liberty of a you where you did your hu”
”Oh--fencing!” It had hardly ever occurred to Andre-Louis that the sword ranked seriously as a study ”I never studied it very much I had some lessons in in the country once”
The master's eyebroent up ”But then?” he cried ”Why trouble to cohts of stairs?” He was iree of proficiency If I a the rudis readily,” Andre-Louis commended himself ”For the rest: I possess the other qualifications I ae whether I aood I ah I realize that the a arly Undoubtedly the young ood address, and a certain readiness of wit, it would appear He ran a critical eye over his physical points ”What is your name?” he asked
Andre-Louis hesitated a moment ”Andre-Louis,” he said
The dark, keen eyes conned hily
”Well? Andre-Louis what?”
”Just Andre-Louis Louis is my surname”
”Oh! An odd surname You come from Brittany by your accent Why did you leave it?”
”To saveAnd then made haste to cover the blunder ”I have an ene his square chin ”You ran away?”
”You may say so
”A coward, eh?”
”I don't think so” And then he lied romantically Surely a man who lived by the sword should have a weakness for the roth--the best blade in the province, if not the best blade in France That is his repute I thought I would coo back and kill him That, to be frank, is why your notice attracted me You see, I have not the ht to find work here in the law But I have failed There are tooI have consumed the little money that I had, so that so that, enfin, your notice see to which a special providence had directed ripped him by the shoulders, and looked into his face
”Is this true, my friend?” he asked
”Not a word of it,” said Andre-Louis, wrecking his chances on an irresistible impulse to say the unexpected But he didn't wreck thehed his fill, confessed himself charmed by his applicant's fundamental honesty